Running Home
by pinkcatsfromouterspace
Summary: What if Ziva escaped from Somalia on her own? Ziva intends to bring Saleem down, alone. Well, not entirely alone. With some inside help, she will take him down. Things are about to get messy. Sparks will fly between two members of team Gibbs.
1. Chapter 1

**Heya guys!**

**Remember me? Well, I'm baaack!**

**I have a new story for you so please read and review! Thank you very much! This story is entitled, Running Home.**

**Enough on me, onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the amazing series, NCIS and its awesome cast members. **

Chapter 1:

Run, that's the only word that Ziva thought of for the past few days. It had been 3 months since Saleem locked up Ziva in this hell hole of a place. Her own father, Eli David, had not even bothered to come and rescue her.

"Must be to save face." Thought Ziva.

Eli David was after all, the big guns of Mossad; he would be ashamed to bring back the daughter that failed him. NCIS, how much she missed that place, Ducky's stories, McGee's nerdiness, Abby's comforting hugs, Gibbs's strong taste in coffee and his fatherly love for her and Tony, her heart skipped a beat as she thought about him, she had special feelings for him but he was just her partner after all. After what happened with Michael Rivkin and all, she bet that he wouldn't even consider looking at her again. So those special feelings were left to fade away by themselves.

She had a plan, a plan to escape, a plan to drag herself out of the burning pits of this hell.

Daily at 1300(Somalia Time) the guards would leave the cell to find more women.

Only one or two guards will remain behind to keep watch.

Ziva made a lock pick with some scrap metal to pick her locks and the cell.

She would grab some weapons from the weapon store.

And, the best part, make a run for it.

Ziva smiled to herself at the running part. She was pumped up to put her plan into action, thank God that she had connections in Africa that could help her get back, this time, back to NCIS, her real home. Not Mossad anymore, she finally stood her ground. Mossad was a place that was not safe anymore. She got betrayed by her father, Michael and by Ari. She could not take anymore. She finally saw their true colours; NCIS was the only place that treated her like she was human. Not like a trained killer.

A trained killer. That was what she was raised to be. She despised her father for it. Ruthless and heartless when she arrived at NCIS. NCIS changed her, she had become a completely different person.

She felt like part of a real, complete family back there, a little dysfunctional at times but still, a family that accepted her for who she was. She knows that they may not ever forgive her but still, she loved them.

Finally, she was going home.

**Short, I know, but I'll try and make the next one longer. Just a little filler for ya'll**

**R&R please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yowza!**

**Thanks to all those that reviewed last time and subscribed or liked my story. Thank you all! (-:**

**Now... Drum roll, dadadadadadadada! Chapter 2!**

Chapter 2:

It was a regular day for everyone at the office, with an exception for team Gibbs. Tomorrow was the big day, the day where they would rescue their co-worker and close friend, Ziva David. Tony was down in Abby's lab for a private prep talk by her. Ducky was checking everyone out and providing ample medication for the team to take to Somalia. Jimmy was wishing everyone the best of luck.

Meanwhile at MTAC.

"Shalom Eli," Said director Vance

"Shalom Leon," replied Eli

"I take it you've heard?"

"Yes, your Agent Gibbs and his team are going out to Somalia tomorrow to save my daughter if she's even alive."

"That's right Eli; I hope you're fine with this."

"Fine Leon, I highly doubt that my daughter is alive though, she is causing many problems in your agency though."

"No problem Eli, it's completely fine."

At Abby's labby.

"Tony! You must admit your feelings for Ziva when you rescue her."

"I'm not sure if she will return those feelings Abs."

"Sure she will, I've seen that spark and chemistry between both of you since she started out here. I'm sure she feels something too. Now's not the time to be shy Anthony Dinozzo. You might not get another chance at her again. Anthony Dinozzo, do you love this woman, Ziva David?"

"Yes I do Abigail Scuito!"

"You may now kiss the bride!"

"Hey, not so far yet Abs."

"One can hope right?"

"How about you and McGoo?"

"We're taking it slow, I'm gonna miss him when he's in Somalia though."

"Don't you worry Abs, I'll protect little McGoo's ass in Somalia."

"Pinky promise me!"Abby stretched out her pinky finger.

Tony stretched out his finger, "I Promise."

At the airport.

Ziva was walking around looking like a zombie in her clothes caked with mud and dirt, Her messy and tangled hair and open wounds. She smiled, the escape plan worked out perfectly. She shot the two guards on duty and kept the gun slung around her back. So she was basically wondering around the airport, looking like hell with a gun.

She found the exit to the airport, hoped on a random motorcycle and rode towards the direction of NCIS, her home.

The team were making the last few preparations to leave until they were interrupted by the elevator doors opening. The whole team turned towards the elevator to see Ziva walk out. The whole team was dumbfounded. Abby happened to come up the stairs and saw Ziva. She ran towards her and enveloped her in a bone crushing hug, while squealing in delight.

Just then, Tony came up and saw her.

"Ziva?" said Tony.

**I would love reviews**. **The next one shall be longer if I receive more reviews.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Shaloms!**

**I'm so terribly sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. I was overseas for a competition!**

**I have tried my absolute best to extend this chapter, hope it pleases you guys!**

**I absolutely do not own anything.**

**Now, onto chapter 3!**

Chapter 3:

"Ziva?" said Tony.

Ziva lifted her eyes up and looked around the squad room after Abby had let her go from the bone crushing hug. Tony was all smiles, McGee had a surprised mixed with happiness expression written across his face. Abby was jumping up and down and yelping in jubilation. Ducky was already starting to examine Ziva's visible wounds and Gibbs had a small smile spread across his face. His "daughter" was back home, where she belonged. At that precise moment, Director Vance stepped out of MTAC to see what the commotion was all about.

"Officer David." He greeted

Ziva broke away from the team, headed up the stairs and pulled director aside.

"Director, were you speaking to my father?" she asked in a whisper

The director remained silent. Ziva took the silence as consent.

"Can you let me speak to him?"

Director Vance nodded his head slowly, he walked to the eye detector and entered MTAC with Ziva.

Meanwhile, at the bullpen...

"What could she have entered MTAC for?" wondered McGee

"Yeah Probalicious, wonder what the little Ninja assassin is doing up there?" replied Tony

Tony was actually very worried about Ziva right now, but he hid behind a facade of jokes to make himself look tough.

"Tony? How can you stay so calm?" asked McGee.

Tony ignored the question and continued playing Tetris on his cell phone.

Meanwhile, back at MTAC...

Director Vance signalled for the technician to turn on the projector. Eli's face immediately appeared.

"Shalom again Leon,"

"Shalom Eli,"

"What was so important that you had to call me for a second time again Leon?"

"Your daughter is back."

"Ziva? Impossible, the rescue commences only tomorrow."

Director Vance signalled for Ziva to step out of the darkness.

"Shalom father," said Ziva with a death glare

"Shalom my daughter,"

"Your daughter? I wouldn't be too sure about that!"

Director Vance sensed that they needed some privacy and dashed out of MTAC to escape a possible catastrophe.

Gibbs looked up to see Vance dashing out of MTAC. He was starting to worry about what was going on up there.

Back at MTAC...

"Ziva, please calm down..."

"NO! You listen to me! I waited in that hell hole of a damned place, why the hell didn't you come?"

"Ziva..."

"WAS IT TO SAVE YOUR DAMN FACE YOU BASTARD?"

"ZIVA! You were the one who volunteered to replace Michael, I don't see why you are angry at me!"

"Because I waited and hoped that you would come. But you didn't. Do you know what they put me through?" She exclaimed, tears springing to her eyes.

"No crying Ziva. America has made you weak."

"I learnt that it is normal to have feelings Eli!"

"You are my daughter, you will listen to me!"

"I AM QUITING MOSSAD!"

Eli went silent for a few seconds and then replied.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Hell yes! I cannot stand you and your emotionless world anymore I want a life that I can lead normally!" Tears were now spilling madly out of her eyes.

"America has changed you Ziva."

"I do not give a damn if I have changed or not." She snapped back

"Well, I do."

"I do not ever want to see you again."

"I knew it was a mistake, letting you have that liaison post."

"I do not agree."

"You will regret this Ziva."

She shook her head and replied

"You are the one who will regret this."

Ziva signalled for the screen to be cut off. She stood in the middle of MTAC for awhile, tears free flowing down her face then she stormed out of MTAC

Back at the squad room...

The whole of team Gibbs assembled in the bullpen, thinking about what was going to happen next. Just then, the whole team heard the door to MTAC slam loudly. A red, puffy eyed Ziva stormed out.

She walked down the steps, went to her desk and leaned back in her chair.

"One hell of a summer huh?" she said softly.

"Ziver..." said Gibbs

She shook her head and let the tears flow.

"I'm done with Mossad."

**R&R please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Bazinga!**

**I have chapter 4 ready for you guys now.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed, liked or subscribed to this story! Big shout out to pirate-princess1 for constant reviews! Thank you so very much. For those who like Cote de Pablo who plays Ziva David in NCIS, you can send her a message for her birthday present. PM me for more details. **

**I do not own NCIS and its amazing cast and characters.**

**Here's chapter 4!**

Chapter 4:

Ziva wiped her tears away furiously. She did not understand why she was getting so emotional, probably because she was back where she belonged. Gibbs was starring at Ziva with worry etched in his eyes. Tony was frowning; McGee was looking down to the floor. At this moment Ducky interrupted them,

"Erhm. Ziva dear, could you follow me down to the mortuary?"

Ziva nodded slowly and got up from her desk. She trailed behind Ducky very slowly.

At that moment when the elevator doors shut, Abby burst into tears.

"Oh Gibbs, this is so unlike her, I want the old Ziva back!"

Gibbs sighed deeply. Jimmy's shoulders drooped. The whole team went into silence.

Down at the mortuary,

Ziva was being examined by Ducky. Ducky was horrified at the amount of burns, bruises and cuts that were imprinted on her body. Ziva could see the amount of pity written across his face.

"You do not need to feel sorry for me Ducky." She said breaking the silence.

"Ziva... You do not need to hide behind this mask of being emotionless anymore."

"Please Ducky; it is embarrassing enough that I cried in front of the whole team. Do not make things worse."

Ducky went silent and continued the examination. He prescribed her some pain killers and told her to come and see him in two weeks time. She got up and left. Ducky shook his head and thought, "poor girl."

Back at the squad room,

Ziva went up and dumped the pain killers in her desk cupboard. She took the gun from her desk and prepared to leave. Gibbs stopped her and said,

"Let Dinozzo follow you Ziver."

"It is not necessary..."

Tony overheard and cut her off

"Don't give me that load of crap Ziva, let me follow you."

Ziva knew that she would not be able to brush him off so she rolled her eyes and walked off. Tony grabbed his backpack and ran off after her.

Ziva was in Tony's car, there was an awkward silence between them. Ziva had given Tony the address of the place where her contact had booked a room for her with a reasonable rent. Ziva was grateful when the car pulled over at the place she was staying at.

She retrieved her keys from the front desk and went up. When she reached her room, she turned to Tony.

"You can leave now." She said quietly.

"No." He replied.

"What else do you want?"

"Do you have any clothes? I can go get you some."

"Okay. I shall pay you back when I get my hands on some cash."

"No need for that."

"Please Tony..."

"I'll be right back."

With that, he shoved her into her room and went off to get some clothes for her.

Ziva went to the bathroom to take a shower. She unbuttoned her shirt and unzipped her pants. (I won't mention undergarments) She stepped into her shower. She scrubbed her body as hard as possible to try and remove the dirt on her body. No matter how she scrubbed, she still felt dirty. She washed her hair down with a lot of the complimentary shampoo and stepped out. She grabbed a towel provided by the landlords and wiped herself down. She starred at her own body in the mirror. She looked at every single scar and burn. She felt a lump forming at her throat. She shook her head and stormed out.

She sat on the couch and started to cry for a while. She did not notice Tony peering from the door at her naked figure. She heard a gasp and turned around to see Tony starring at her. She realised that he had noticed that long scar down her back.

**R&R please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yo.**

**Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are beyond AWESOMEEEE! Special shout out to ladybugsmomma for the reviews and thanks to all of you as well! Keep calm and review.**

**Now, chapter 5**

Chapter 5:

Ziva turned around and starred at Tony for quite some time. She made an abrupt dash for the door, snatched the bag of clothes from his hands and slammed the door shut.

Tony immediately banged on the door furiously.

"Zi, Open up! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare! Come on Zi!"

Ziva rummaged through the bag of clothes, and pulled out a pair of cargo pants and a tank top and slipped on a leather jacket. She eyed the gun on the table and grabbed it. She opened the front door slowly.

"Zi, I'm so sorry..." Tony noticed the gun and stopped talking.

"Shoot me." Said Ziva

Tony shook his head furiously, "You just dragged yourself out of hell, why would you want to kill yourself now?"

"Rather you than that bastard." She replied.

"I'm not doing it Ziva, we just got you back and I'm not letting you leave again."

"Don't make this difficult..."

"I'm not! You are the one putting me in a difficult position here!"

"Fine, I'll do it myself." Ziva aimed the gun to her chest.

"NO!" Tony yelled and snatched the gun away from her.

Ziva snatched the gun back (surprisingly it did not go off after all this snatching up and down)

"Why the hell do you care so much?" Ziva yelled

"Because, I love you!"

Ziva stood there in shock and shook her head

"No, you cannot love someone like me. Go and find someone else who won't accuse you of things you did not do. Find a girl who is not as scarred and damaged as me."

"No Zi, don't say these kind of things."

"Well, is it not true? You did not deserve to be treated the way I treated you."

"To be honest, I was angry at first but now, I'm so over it."

"Do not try to make me feel better, I don't deserve happiness."

"You deserve everything Ziva! It was not your fault that those bastards caught you."

"If you knew what they did to me, you would not even dare to talk to me or much less even come near me."

"How many times must I tell you it's not your fault and that we are all glad that you are back."

"I am not convinced."

Meanwhile...

"Dear Ziva David...you will witness the downfall of your boyfriend right in front of those cursed eyes of yours."

The sniper loaded up his riffle and set to take aim. A wide grin flashed across his face.

Back at Ziva's new apartment,

"Tony, just leave me alone will you?"

"No, I'm going to make sure you don't do anything stupid. Starting off with taking that gun of yours," He snatched back the gun from her iron grip.

She shot him a murderous glare but he seemed oblivious to it.

"Do you have any other weapons?" He questioned

"Like I'm going to tell you," She snapped back.

"I'll just have to search you then."

Her eyes widened at that comment.

"What's wrong Zi?" Tony asked with concern in his voice.

"DUCK!" Ziva yelled.

"Wha," Tony replied

Ziva grabbed him and pulled him down just in time to let the bullet whizz past their heads and crash into the glass window.

**Short yes. More reviews=Longer chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey.**

**So I received a few more reviews, so I shall continue the story.**

**Shout out to ForeignMusicLyrics, thanks for the reviews!**

**I do not own the amazing series that is NCIS and its lovable cast members.**

Chapter 6:

Tony was in shock after the whole fiasco that just occurred, he turned and noticed Ziva was kneeling at the window and collecting the shell casings.

"So, what's the gun?" Tony questioned.

Ziva stared at the shell casing in silence. She recognized it. It was that bastard, Saleem's signature.

She got up slowly and looked around. Tony got up and looked at Ziva, her face had turned a ghostly shade of white.

"Zi, you okay?"

"Get away from me Tony."

"What?"

"I said, go. The ones that get too close always get hurt." Ziva warned Tony.

"Ziva I…"

She slammed the door in his face. Tony figured that he had no other choice but to leave. He knew that she would not open the door again. He sighed and left.

Back in Ziva's room,

Ziva paced up and down he room for a while trying to process everything that just happened. She could not risk getting her team hurt. Team… Team! An idea sprang into her head. She grabbed the cordless phone and dialed director Vance's office number.

Meanwhile, at a bar,

Tony was at a bar getting drunk.

"One more!" he called out to the bartender

This was his entire fault, if he had just minded his business and admitted that he was jealous of Michael Rivkin, none of this would have happened. The bartender slid Tony another shot of tequila. Just at that moment, a brunette slid up on the bar stool next to Tony.

"Hey, bad day huh,

"Yeah, real bad,"

"Want me to make it better?" She said with a wink

Tony stared at the woman for a while and replied,

"Sure, why not?"

With that, the brunette grabbed Tony's hand, slid a few dollar bills for his drink and whisked him out of the bar.

Back at Ziva's apartment,

"Leon speaking,"

"Good evening director," replied Ziva

"Agent David, What can I do for you?"

"I need your help with something director."

Ziva explained what she had in mind to the director. She wanted to get transferred to a capable team that could help her take down Saleem so that no one on team Gibbs would get hurt. Not that team Gibbs was not capable, she could not put her friend's lives on the line. She also explained to him the events that took place before this phone call.

Leon considered it for a few moments and agreed to the plan, he could not say no to an agent so dedicated to protecting her team.

"I'll see you at 10 00 agent David."

"Thank you so much director, Shalom."

"Shalom."

The next day,

Tony walked into the bullpen all smiles.

"Good morning Tony." McGee said doubtfully

"Good morning probalicious." Tony replied a little too bubbly

"Obviously got turned on last night." Said McGee

"Mind your business McSnooper."

Tony smiled to himself and sat down at his desk.

After a few minutes of silence, Tony spoke again.

"Her name is Jamie, real pretty one."

"Oh, good for you then Tony,"

He smirked. Gibbs entered the bull pen with a cup coffee.

"Get back to work." He barked

There were simultaneous replies of, "Yes Boss." And both men went back to filling out case reports and replying e-mails.

At exactly 10 00, Ziva entered the elevator and braced herself for the sight that she would see, her team.

"No," she told herself in her head. "I have to focus, no distractions."

The elevator arrived at her destination and she stepped out. She steadied herself to not get too emotional.

The men of team Gibbs looked up at the sound of the elevator. They all stayed completely still at the sight of the Israeli beauty stepping out of the elevator.

As if on cue, director Vance stepped out of his office.

"Agent David, come on up and meet your new team."

Ziva nodded and hurried up the steps leading to MTAC, avoiding the glances from her previous co-workers.

Ziva entered the director's office and shut the door slowly.

**R&R please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi,**

**So I guess I got some of you pissed if at Tony in the last chapter. This chapter is to justify his actions. So read, review and enjoy. (I hope)**

Chapter 7:

Ziva entered the director's office and saw a team of three people sitting at the big desk in the middle of the office.

"Agent David, meet your new team."

The three men stood up and started introducing themselves, a guy who looked around the same age as Gibbs started.

"Hi, I'm Ethan Stone, leader of the team."

Ziva gave a faint smile.

"Hello, I'm Ken Johnson, computer technician of the team."

He extended his hand and Ziva shook it.

"Hey, I'm Ian Shelby, probably the hunky chunky of this team." He joked.

He had an attitude almost like Tony's, she smiled to herself.

Ken and Ethan both shot Ian a glare, this made Ziva giggle.

"Hi, I'm Ziva David." She said in between laughs.

"Looks like I choose the right people for the job, my secretary will allocate you an office where you can work in.

"I get the seat opposite the hot chick!" yelled Ian

"Ian?" said Ethan

"Yes boss?"

"Shut up for your own good sake before you look like an idiot."

"Shutting up,"

Ziva thought that the trio reminded her of her own team. She knew that she was going to have an easy time working with them.

"Milady, may I escort you to the squad room?" asked Ian

She smiled and nodded. Ian extended his hand and she took it. Ken rolled his eyes in annoyance and the new team left the director's office.

Back at the squad room,

Abby was up at the bull pen chattering away about her latest findings on how to make her own Caf-Pow!

"So it's like you put in caffeine at this point and there you have your own homemade Caf-Pow!"

The sound of the director's office door slamming shut drew all their attention away from Abby's chattering.

Ziva was holding hands with Ian and Ethan was talking to Ken about something. The whole team came down the stairs. Ziva tried to avoid the stares form her old team. She felt really bad abandoning them but in this matter, she had no choice. She sighed and walked quickly pulling Ian along with her.

Tony had a look of pain and hurt written across his face. Gibbs was wearing a sad frown, he rarely let his emotions show. But this time, he felt a sense of loss. He treated Ziva like his daughter and now she was with another team now. McGee tapped his fingers awkwardly on his desk and Abby had a look of rage on her face.

"How can Vance do this?" she exclaimed

"Not my call." came a voice from behind.

Vance headed down the stairs and walked to the bull pen.

"Then who's was it?" Tony said (more like yelled)

"I'm not at liberty to say. Meanwhile, find a replacement for agent David." Vance said and walked off.

Abby had tears slowly falling form the side of her eyes, Tony was enraged. McGee remained silent. Gibbs took a deep sigh.

At Ziva's new squad room,

"Target is Saleem Ulman, leader of an East-African terrorist cell. Last known location is Somalia but I believe he is in D.C. Yesterday, either him or one of his men took a shot at me. The shell casings are his signature."

Ziva held up a zip lock bag containing the shell casing and passed it over to Ethan.

Ethan examined the bullets for a while and determined that the bullets came from a riffle.

"I suggest we bring the bullets down to ballistics to determine exactly what riffle was used." Said Ken

"Okay, Ken, bring the bullets down to ballistics, meanwhile the rest of us will check into recent payments made at any weapons shop in D.C any motels that have been recently checked in? Ziva can you put out a bolo since you know how he looks. Get to work now everyone."

All three agents nodded their heads and got to work.

"Oh by the way, we have our own forensic specialist to aid us with ballistics, fingerprinting DNA samples and the rest, after we are done with ballistics, backgrounds and bolos, we will head to Ziva's apartment and look around, the sniper could've left some shoe prints behind."

With that, everyone got to work.

The day passed quickly and team Gibbs was released to go home.

Tony went and bought some booze to go home and get drunk. He called Jamie and invited her over. He was happy when he was with her, but it did not feel right. He felt like he was not really dating but just making use of her to get over Ziva. He felt bad and constantly worried about her.

**There you have it, this should clear up some things (I hope) so,**

**R&R please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello.**

**Well, I only received two reviews for the last chapter. Ouch! That hurt. Well, anyway, here's chapter 8. Hope you try to enjoy it.**

Chapter 8:

Ziva woke up breathing heavily, this is the fourth nightmare she had since she came back to Washington. She was trying very hard to sleep for more than 2 hours but the nightmares kept on haunting her. She had tried sleeping pills and she had tried to tire herself out by staying up late but none of those tactics had worked. The nightmares kept coming back.

She sighed and dragged herself out of bed. She took a quick shower and changed into her jogging clothes. She eyed the wall clock, 06 00. She had to be at work at 1200 she had an extra hour for jogging today. She grabbed her I-pod and headed out.

Somewhere else,

"How could you have missed? I hired you because you because I thought you were a pro!"

'I'm sorry boss, she caught sight of me and ducked."

Saleem slammed his Caf-Pow! down in his wooden desk. Saleem had been trying to nab Ziva for almost a week now. He was getting frustrated that she might catch up to him.

He paced up and down in his new DC headquarters. When a thought struck him,

"I've got an idea, aim for the team. Don't aim for her, she might react then."

"Which team boss?"

"What do you mean?"

'She has been transferred to another team boss."

"I see, this should be interesting, get the others back here."

"Right away boss,"

The next day,

Tony entered the Bullpen hesitantly, he had a rough night.

McGee was at his desk early and noticed that Tony did not look his usual self. He frowned and asked,

'Hey Tony, what's up? You look horrible."

"Thanks McTease, I broke up with Jamie last night."

"I'm so sorry Tony, I really am."

"Sall' right, right now I'm more worried about Ziva." Tony looked down with a sad frown while saying that.

"We all are." Replied McGee

"Yeah, I know. I'm going for a coffee run if Gibbs asks."

"Okay." McGee acknowledged and returned to typing away on his computer

Ziva was in her Mini Cherry Red Cooper, she unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out. She took in the morning air, it was so fresh and she felt so free. Today was a new day, they had found a new lead and they were going to chase it. They had found a local gun retailer and found out that a payment had been made for a large amount of guns, they traced down the credit card and found that it had been used to purchase other items ranging from bullets to Caf-pow!.

She got into the lift and took a deep breath, she sipped her coffee from her cup. She got out and realized that she was on the floor where her old office was, she stepped out to take the stairs to her current office and she crashed into Tony. Spilling her coffee all over Tony,

"I am so sorry!" she grabbed some tissues from her bag and started to wipe his shirt. Tony grabbed her hand.

"It's okay Ziva, please just tell me why you're doing this."

'I do not quite understand what you are talking about agent Dinozzo." She replied

"Are you kidding me Zi? Agent Dinozzo?"

"That's agent David to you."

Tony shook his head in disbelief, he grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard.

"You are Ziva David, you are a part of our team and you are the crazy-ninja assassin chick who can kill me 18 different ways with a paperclip."

"Things change." She simply replied

"I'm the guy who looks at reality and doesn't accept it, you will forever be Ziva David, the woman who means the world to me and I want her back."

Ziva was dumbfounded, she stood there looking at the ground, hoping that the ground would split open and swallow her, this was so awkward.

Tears were threatening to fall, did Tony just confess? No, he couldn't have, why the hell would he want damaged goods like her, she is nowhere near good for him.

At that moment, Ian walked around the conner and spotted Ziva.

"Hey ZiZi-top, you lost? The squad room's this way."

Ziva turned towards him and laughed,

'Hold on a few seconds, I'll be there in a niffy,"

"Jiffy," Ian corrected

"Same difference,"

Ian sighed, "Well, hurry, boss man will kill us if we are both late."

Ian walked up to Ziva and offered his hand to Ziva, she took and smiled.

"I'm so sorry for the accident agent Dinozzo." Ziva turned away from a shocked Tony and walked away with Ian, she let a few silent tears fall, she really wished she could tell him, but he would get himself involve and she could lose him. She could not let that happen.

Gibbs strode into the bullpen, he had witnessed everything from a conner, if Ziva was on his team, he might just have screwed rule 12. He saw a spark between both of them from the start. Besides, rule 51, sometimes, you are wrong.

**More reviews would be appreciated, I hope you have tried to enjoy this story, I know I suck at this.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey there!**

**First of all, I would like to thank everyone for all the reviews you really encouraged me to continue writing because I thought of deleting this story. So thank you and hence the early update!**

**Enough Chatter, I present you chapter 9!**

Chapter 9:

It had been a long 5 days for Ziva, overseeing the little incident with Tony, her team had been working tirelessly going through cup after cup of coffee and finally. They tracked down Saleem's location and were preparing to bust him down.

They arrived at an abandoned warehouse around a deserted district in Georgetown. They loaded their weapons, put on their bullet-proof vests and headed towards the warehouse.

Ziva picked the lock and they charged in. The warehouse was surprisingly silent. The team caught sight of a door and they barged in. But what was behind the door was not what they had expected at all.

Meanwhile at Tony's house,

Tony had been sent home by Gibbs earlier on. He was so distracted at work and could not focus properly. Tony had insisted on staying, but Gibbs barked at him to go home and take a breather and there was no further debate.

He sat on his couch, chugging down bottles of booze. He kept replaying that darn incident between him and Ziva, he could not get it out of his mind.

'See what you've done you dumbass, you go and kill her boyfriend and now she hates you for life and then you hurt her feelings by discriminating her scars. Nice move Antony Dinozzo." He thought to himself.

He laughed sarcastically and continued to chug down his booze.

Back at the warehouse,

The sight the team was greeted by was a dead Saleem lying on the floor, his lips were purple and there was a cup of spilled Caf-Pow!.

Ziva stood there in shock. Who could have done this? Someone much more superior then him, or suicide because he knew they were catching up to him?

"Let Homeland security handle this. I've already called them in." Ethan said interrupting Ziva's thoughts.

Ziva nodded her head slowly. She was a little shaken up by the sight in front of her. She had her suspicions. But she left it at where it was.

"This calls for some celebration!" Yelled Ian

Ken and Ethan rolled their eyes and Ethan said,

"Come on, let's get out of here, Homeland security will want our reports tomorrow.

And with that, the team left the warehouse.

At Gibbs' place,

Gibbs was in his basement drinking some bourbon (everyone seems to be drinking, how funny) He had observed Dinozzo for 5 days now, he needed Ziva back on the team. Dinozzo had been out of place and zonked out for the past few days and he knew that it was about Ziva. McGee had been more silent since the incident and apparently, Abby had heard about the incident and threw temper tantrums at everyone. Ducky had become less talkative and Palmer was clumsier around the lab and had become so much more awkward.

Ziva was the spirit missing in the team, he considered her as close as his daughter that he once lost. His team was like his family, and when one family member is gone. The other members fell apart.

Gibbs really wanted to know what was going on with Ziva.

Meanwhile back at Ziva's bullpen.

The whole team was typing up individual reports on the case and a separate report as witnesses for Homeland security.

Ian finished his report unusually quick, Ken finished a few minutes later and Ziva and Ethan finished at almost the same time.

"Like I said, let's go out and grab us some drinks! It'll be fun."

After a few minutes more of persuading, Ian convinced the team to go out for drinks.

At some random club named the drunken zebra (what?)

Ziva sat quietly sipping on her Mojito while the guys were taking tequila shot after shot like there was no tomorrow. Ziva started getting anxious and decided it was the right time to drag them out of the bar.

She headed up to them at the bar counter and said,

'Come on you guys, let's go."

'Come on, don't be such a partaay pooopa!" Said Ian, at this stage he couldn't even talk properly. Ziva started to worry.

"Seriously, let's go!" she tugged at Ken's sleeve

"Right, right," said Ethan, "one more round and we are out of here.

The guys chugged down one more round simultaneously, left notes on the counter and walked (more like staggered) out of the bar.

At an quiet alley,

Ziva was walking quietly behind the guys while they were talking in some gibberish that was probably some drunk language.

All of a sudden, shots started firing out, Ziva instinctively ducked, the guys however were not so lucky. In their drunken demeanor, they did not manage to duck in time and got hit.

Ziva stayed down until she was sure that the firings have ceased. She slowly got up and looked around.

She saw the all the bloodshed on the ground at saw her teammates all dead.  
>She ran to Ken and shook him, no response. She tried Ethan, no response either. She tried Ian, same as the other two. They were all stone cold and dead.<p>

"No," she told herself, "this cannot be happening…"

She shook her head and tears started forming.

"No, no… NO!" she yelled and started sobbing hysterically.

A few passer-byers stopped by and saw the whole event. Eventually someone called the police which then contacted NCIS.

For Ziva, the supposedly best day of her life was turned upside down.

**If you want more, just review. God, it sounds like bribery. R&R please!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Greetings!**

**I got reviews! So I give you another update. Merry early Christmas and enjoy!**

Chapter 10:

At Tony's house,

Tony was awakened frorm his hangover at the sound of his cell phone. His eyes jolted open and he scrambled around his coffee table to locate it.

"Dinozzo," he answered

"Dinozzo, get your ass down here, we've got a case to solve."

Tony eyed his wall clock. It read, 1200a.m.

"Really boss? It's like midnight right now."

"Ziva's involved." Gibbs simply replied.

At the sound of her name, Tony shot up from his lying down position and asked,

"Is she okay? Is she hurt? How is she?"

"Get your ass down here and see for yourself."

Tony snapped his phone shut, raced to bathroom to freshen up and made a mad dash for the front door.

At the crime scene,

Gibbs, after gathering his team at the squad room came down as soon as they could to the crime scene. Abby was up and at her lab (strangely arriving at the same time as McGee) Ducky and Palmer had geared up the M.E van as quick as possible and drove down to the scene.

Ziva was dressed in the NCIS jumpsuit and was sitting by the M.E van letting Ducky check her out. She remained quiet.

As soon as the team arrived on scene, they immediately got into action. Gibbs was head longing the team with McGee bagging and tagging while Tony sketched and Gibbs was doing questioning.

Once Ducky was done with Ziva, he left her alone and went to assist Palmer. Gibbs came over to Ziva

"Hey Ziver, you okay?"

Ziva remained silent but nodded her head.

"You don't seem fine to me at all." Gibbs replied

Ziva let out a sigh and remained quiet.

"I'll ask Dinozzo to take you back, I don't want you getting involved in this."

"You will have my report first thing tomorrow and I can take care of myself, I do not need Tony to bring me back." She replied softly

With that, she got up and walked towards the direction of the car park. Gibbs turned and could see Tony watching her with a frown.

"Go Dinozzo," Gibbs said

"Excuse me boss?"

"Follow her, make sure she's okay."

"On it boss." Replied Tony and he ran off to his car

Gibbs hid a small grin and went back to work

At Ziva's apartment,

Ziva sat on her couch thinking about the course of events today. A hot shower did not chase away the goose pimples on her skin. She felt a shiver go up her spine. She grabbed a blanket and put on a pot of hot water to make hot chocolate.

She was trying to sleep by reading a book but the images of her team mates and the sounds of the gunshots kept her up. She heard a knock on the door interrupting the silence.

She got up and opened the door swiftly while holding her Sig and pointed it straight to the person at the door.

Tony raised his hands in mock surrender and said,

"I'm sorry for waking you up la Bonita, may I come in?"

"You should have called," she replied and stepped aside for him to enter

"If I called, would you still have let me in?" he retaliated

Ziva sat back down on her couch and sipped at her hot chocolate.

"Want a cup?" she offered

'No, I'm good, thanks." He replied while shutting the door

"Suit yourself."

They sat in silence for a few minutes and he started speaking,

"How're you holding up?"

"I am fine, why is everyone asking me that?"

"Because, you've just been through something horrible, and we know you are definitely not fine."

Ziva opened her mouth to say something but she swallowed her words back.

"Ziva, I need you to know that I'm here for you, we all are and you need to talk to us."

She remained silent and sipped her hot chocolate. She was not going to talk, if he knew and if she said it, it would get her all emotional.

"Ziva please, talk to me."

"What is there to talk about?"

"You know what I mean."

She continued to sip her hot chocolate and said nothing.

"Never mind, if I can't get you to talk, you should at least get some rest.

Her eyes widened at the thought of sleeping, sleep she could not. There were those darn nightmares that did not allow her to sleep.

Tony stood up to leave until he heard Ziva sniffing. He looked down and saw Ziva was trying to hold back tears but failed.

He sat back down and stared at her crying, she noticed the look he was giving her. She got angry and snapped at him,

'Do not look so sorry for me! I am fine! Stop giving me that face! I don't want your pity!"

She could not hold back anymore and let her tears flow freely. Tony hugged her tightly and she surprisingly hugged back.

After he had reluctantly let go, she confessed everything.

"You know Tony, instead of seeing my team mates go down in my dreams, I saw you, Gibbs and McGee. And I can't bear to see all of you being taken away from me. That's why I can't sleep."

Tony nodded his head and replied,

"You've been through a lot Zi and don't you worry, I will be there for you every step of the way."

"Thank you Tony, for always having my back." She finally smiled

She leaned in closer and they could feel it, that spark that they had for too long now. They both kissed the sweetest kiss they each had ever experienced.

**It's not the end yet! R&R please!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey there!**

**So here's chapter 11. Thanks for all the reviews and sticking with this story for so long. I really appreciated.**

**I have a new story plot in my head for another story. So be patient and it will come soon around next year between February to March or maybe later or sooner. Merry Christmas and have a safe new year with your families!**

**Now without further ado, here's chapter 11!**

Chapter 11:

Sunlight flickered through the windows and shone onto Ziva's face. She stirred on her bed and rubbed her eyes. What time was it? She turned towards her bedside clock and saw the time, 1100. Damn, she meant to go for a run. She shook her head and sat up. She turned to the other side of the bed. The covers were messed up. Apparently, she was not alone last night. She smiled to herself and dragged herself out of bed.

She walked to the kitchen and put a kettle on the stove to boil some water for a cup of tea. She sat on the couch and recalled the events of last night.

*Flashback*

Tony and Ziva had separated after the need for oxygen came. She stared deeply into those gorgeous hazel eyes of his.

She started blushing and turned away. Tony moved in closer to Ziva and put his arm around her.

"Hey, we're going to get through this together alright? I'm here for you. Always."

She smiled at him and she moved in closer and they enveloped in a hug.

Soon, Ziva fell asleep in Tony's arms. He put his arms under her legs and carried her to her room.

*End of flashback*

She heard the kettle screeching and went to prepare her tea.

At NCIS

Team Gibbs was all hard at work trying to find the culprit of the events form the previous night. If he was still out there, he might try something else on Ziva again. Tony had arrived the earliest and got cracking. Abby had arrived next and had a personal pep talk with him.

She pulled him to the elevator and flipped the emergency switch (always used inappropriately of course.)

"Antony Dinozzo, What did you two do when you followed her home last night? Spill it now!"

"Whoa, relax Abs."

"Tell me now or I can and will kill you and leave no forensic evidence behind."

"We just talked. That's about all." Tony replied. He did not want to give away too much at this point.

"Just talked? I highly doubt so! Spit it out!"

"Abs, I think some people would like to use the elevator."

"Let them wait, I want to know everything!"

At that moment, Tony's phone rang.

"Dinozzo." He answered.

"Get your ass down to the bullpen right now. Stop hogging the lift, I need my coffee."

"How did you, never mind. On my way boss,"

"Make it quick or I'll smack your big head to Alaska."

With that, Abby glared at Tony for a few moments and activated the lift again. Tony sighed in relief after Abby reached her lab. She heard this and turned around.

"We are not done yet mister. We will talk about this later, trust me."

The elevator doors shut close and Tony made his way back to the bullpen.

At approximately 1300,

Ziva got out of her cherry red mini Cooper and stared upwards at the NCIS headquarters.

She headed towards the elevator and rode upwards holding a cup of Starbucks and eating a blueberry muffin.

She got off at the bullpen and noticed that the team was gathered around the screen reporting their findings to Gibbs. At the sound of the elevator, Gibbs turned his head to see Ziva standing there with her blueberry muffin and coffee. She smiled and approached him.

She looked at the screen and frowned, she recognized the bullet casing, but could not point out from where. She sighed and took another bite out of her muffin.

"Ziver, whatcha' doing here?

"Thought I could be of some, mph!" she choked on her muffin when she took a second glance at the screen. She did recognize the bullet. It was Saleem's signature. "But was he not dead?" She thought.

"What's wrong Ziva?" asked Tony.

McGee shot her a look of concern.

She snapped out of her trance and sipped on her coffee, she cleared her throat. And replied,

"Nothing, nothing's wrong." She lied.

"You shouldn't be here," said Gibbs

"Yeah, I shouldn't." replied Ziva.

"You okay?" asked Tony

"Fine, just orangey,"

"Peachy." Corrected McGee

"Yeah, that too,"

Ziva turned around and left the squad room. She could not tell them that that was Saleem's bullet. He would hunt them down if he found out that they were onto him. She was going to have to do this one on her own.

"What was that all about?" asked McGee

"I don't know, but I don't have a good feeling about this." Replied Tony

"Keep looking," said Gibbs. "I'm going down to Ducky."

At Abby's labby,

Ziva headed to Abby's lab and was greeted by her usual blasting of heavy metal music.

"Abby!" Ziva yelled trying to get her attention.

"Abby heard her and lowered down the music with her remote control."

"What's up Ziva? You weren't supposed to come in today."

"I know, but I need your help."

"Anything, what do you need?'

"I need you to be my inside informant on this case."

"What does that mean?" questioned Abby

"Can you slip me information about this case?" Ziva asked

"I'm not allowed to do that, Gibbs gave me strict instructions to…"

"I know what Gibbs told you not to tell me anything but I really need you to help me on this one, Saleem is back."

Abby gasped, "How do you know?"

"I saw the bullet casings up in the bullpen, it is Saleem's signature. He is still alive. I cannot put Gibbs, McGee and Tony at risk of finding out. He will kill them."

"But what about you?"

"I can take care of myself, I survived three months with him, and I sure can survive a few days of tracking him."

"Okay, but you have to promise you won't do anything rash!"

"I promise Abby."

Abby stretched put her pinky and Ziva wrapped hers around it.

"Now, let's begin with the bullet casings." Said Ziva

In the elevator

Ziva had left Abby's lab and was on her way to Ducky until she met Gibbs while he was entering the elevator.

"Hey Ziver, what are you still doing here?

"Um, I came to pay my final respects." She replied softly.

"You feeling okay?" asked Gibbs skeptically

"Like I said in the bullpen, fine."

Gibbs stared at her for a while and let her pass to autopsy. He knew something was going on, he just needed time to figure out.

At autopsy,

"Ducky and Jimmy, I need both your help." Ziva said while entering

"We know."

"Huh, how did you?"

"Abigail left her communication device on." Replied Ducky pointing to the white device,

"My bad," said Abby.

"Doctor Mallard and I have agreed to help you." Said Jimmy

"Thank you three, so much."

"No problem." Three of them replied simultaneously

The three of them had agreed to meet at Ziva's house with whatever Intel they had tomorrow. Ziva had private arrangements to make sure they were well protected.

Ziva felt guilty, but if she requested Tony or McGee to help, they would definitely object. Gibbs would not even allow her to get involved. This was the only way.

She headed up to the bullpen, it was empty. She dropped her report off on Gibbs' desk and left.

Things were about to get messy.

**R&R please!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Greetings Probie-Wan-Kenobis,**

**So, I received a few reviews for the last chapter, that's cool. I hope you will review this chapter. This story has taken a turn so the curtains will not be going down so soon after all…**

**Shout out to, Tiva-babe Uk and ladybugsmomma for constantly reviewing. Huge kisses to you guys! (By the way, Tiva-Babe Uk, do you have Tumblr? I might know you. (-;)**

**Enough chatter, let's get started now shall we.**

Chapter 12:

Ziva's doorbell rang at approximately 2000 hours. She opened the door and paid for her Chinese takeout and shut the door. She sat on her couch and tapped her foot impatiently on her wooden lacquered floor. She was expecting some company tonight.

At about 15 minutes later, the doorbell rang again. She opened the door and Abby, Ducky and Jimmy were standing outside. She stepped aside to allow them to come in.

The four of them settled at the dining table. Ziva set up the table and served the Chinese food with a glass of iced-tea for each.

"So Abby, what do you have?" questioned Ziva

"Umm, so I managed to try and delay the ballistic results to delay the investigation but I could not delay the beep of the Mass-Spec. Sorry."

"It's okay, how about you Ducky?"

"I tried delaying the autopsy as well. I succeeded. They did not suspect a thing as I explained to them that there was more I had to run more tests with the bodies"

"Great, how about you Black Lung?"

Jimmy laughed slightly at his old alias when the team was trying to rescue Ziva from being framed.

"I managed to snoop in at awkward moments or when Gibbs' team was out in the field. They haven't really gotten really far in this investigation. They have some suspects, but none of them are a huge breakthrough in the investigation."

"Great job, so it is settled, we will meet at my place every Wednesday to report on our Intel."

With that, the four of them clinked their glasses together and continued the meal with a casual conversation.

When Abby, Ducky and Jimmy left, Ziva started to dig in on her own. Tomorrow, she would go down to the warehouse where she last saw Saleem supposedly dead. For now, it was a shower and bed.

The next day,

Team Gibbs all reported in early (with an exception of Ziva) Gibbs came in the earliest and reviewed Ziva's report.

"We went into the warehouse with all our guards on, we were surprised by the sight we were greeted with, a dead body. The body of Saleem Ulman, we called it in and left to celebrate."

Gibbs stopped reading and made his first move to call and check with the respective authorities and checked. They did receive the report but when they arrived, there was no body there.

Gibbs was a little no, very baffled, Saleem? He's in Dc? Is he dead? If so, was the body moved? Where could it have been moved? Who moved it and why? His thoughts were interrupted by McGee and Tony greeting Gibbs. Time to get to work…

At the warehouse,

Ziva walked around the warehouse. She looked up and down for any trace of what could have been left behind by Saleem. She walked to corner where his body laid. She noticed small piece of paper on the ground. She picked it up and read it.

"If you are Ziva David, lucky for me, I am still alive and I'm back for more. Catch me if you can. Your first clue is right in front of you. Let the games begin"

-Saleem.

She felt her legs turn to jelly. She sighed and kept the paper in her pocket. She heard the sound of tires against gravel. She turned out and saw Gibbs, McGee and Tony coming out of a car. Her eyes widened and she looked for a place to hide.

Gibbs and his team stepped into the warehouse and began processing the scene. Gibbs had instructed his team to be very attentive to everything. If Saleem was still around, he could be out to get them and Ziva.

Out of the blue, Tony heard a clinking sound as if something was dropped. He turned around and instinctively pulled out his gun. He walked to the spot where he heard the noise something shiny on the floor. He picked it up and noticed it was a gold beaded bracelet. It looked like the one he gave Ziva for Hanukkah last year. It had the pendant of the Star of David on it. She had promised to bring it with her everywhere. He was confused.

McGee and Gibbs ran over to the spot where Tony was standing.

"Dinozzo! What did you find?" Gibbs barked

"A bracelet that I gave Ziva last year,"

"What's it doing here?" asked McGee

"If only I knew Probie." Replied Tony

Ziva enters Abby's lab. Similar to before, the lab was blasting with heavy metal music.

"ABBY!" yelled Ziva

"ZIVA, I'M BACK HERE!" yelled Abby

Ziva walked towards the back of the lab. Abby turned down the music.

"I made this part of lab private, just for anything you ask me to do."

Ziva smile gratefully at Abby and Abby hugged Ziva.

"Can you analyze this?" asked Ziva asked after Abby let go.

Ziva handed Abby the piece of paper she picked up

"Sure, give me some time. I can give you the results next Wednesday."

"Thank you Abby."

"No probs!" Abby replied with zest.

Ziva left the lab and took a thumb drive out of her other pocket. She was going to install a virus that would lag the computers and give her more time to find Saleem first. The thumb drive would also trade the virus for the research the team had gathered. Ziva heard the elevator ding and she ran to the stairwell and saw the team enter the lab.

Ziva made a quick text to Abby.

"The guys are coming, delay them. Give them the ballistics results and just keep talking."

"What? Ok." Abby replied

Ziva dashed up the stairs to the bullpen.

At the bullpen,

True to Abby's word, Ziva had sufficient time to collect the data and transfer the virus into the computers. Ziva admired how Abby could keep on talking and talking.

With that, Ziva left the NCIS headquarters.

**That's it for now, I'm going back to school soon. )-: I will try and update frequently. R&R please!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello shenanigans,**

**Huge kisses to all of you who reviewed, you made me feel absolutely brilliant. Thank you all you dolls!**

**So as a reward, here is a quick update for all you darlings! Have a safe and happy new year everyone. Keep on smiling next year as Gibbs said in Engagement part two.**

Chapter 13:

Soon, it was time for the weekly Wednesday report. Ziva ordered some Greek food and had already set it out on her dining table. A few minutes later, Ducky and Jimmy arrived, followed by Abby.

"Sorry I'm late! I got held up by some evidence I had to process."

"It's okay," replied Ziva, Ziva motioned to Abby' seat and Abby sat down

After a few minutes of casual conversation, Ziva started the meeting,

"So, who wants to go first?"

Abby's hand shot up immediately, she reached into her bag and pulled out the paper Ziva passed her.

"So, I scanned the paper, at first I did not find anything. But, I noticed that there was a faded picture on the back under the UV light. It's a picture of the Washington Monument. I think that was what he meant by your first clue is right in front of you."

Ziva nodded her head. She got up and walked to the living room. She dragged a white board that she bought earlier in the day. She jotted down the notes and stuck the paper to the white board. Ducky began speaking.

"I took the liberty of creating a psychological profile for Saleem." Ziva nodded and he continued. "Saleem feels like he has started a game and now he feels like he the game master and you, Ziva dear, are a player. Since Saleem feels that he is the game master. He feels that he is in control. With that control, comes a thought that he can hurt anyone on the team just to get your adrenalin up for the game."

Ziva noted everything down on the board. Jimmy then began speaking,

"I have heard that Gibbs and his team have interrogated a suspect, he is a store owner and Saleem frequently patronizes for his shop. I have heard that Saleem will buy many supplies in one shot."

Ziva noted that down as well. "He probably wants to avoid being outside for extended periods of time. He must have a vehicle to transport the supplies."

"I have surveillance on the shop," said Abby, "McGee left the feed running, I downloaded it and transferred it onto my private computer."

"Great job everyone. Tomorrow, I will visit Washington Monument and see what he could have possibly left behind. But now, I have prepared ice-cream sundaes for you all. Let's eat and we will come in with more next Wednesday." She smiled at them and went to grab the sundaes.

At Tony's apartment,

Tony was watching "The Godfather" but he felt so lonely. He wanted to Ziva beside him. He wanted to cuddle up with her and kiss her beautiful soft lips. He took another swig of beer and passed out on the couch.

The next day,

Ziva got off to an early start and started canvassing Washington Monument. She reached the pillar and saw a picture placed at the bottom of the monument behind the picture was a riddle.

"Round two, riddle diddle, three kids were playing a game of skipping rocks at a pond. The first kid skipped three rocks and one sank. The second kid skipped all his rocks. The last kid skipped four rocks but the last one sank. The second kid had won but the kid was killed. Who killed the kid?"

-Saleem

Ziva mulled over it for a while and figured it out. The first kid still had one rock. The first kid took the rock and hit the second kid on the head.

'What could this mean?" she wondered aloud

Then, it hit her. Someone was going to die. She took the picture and tucked in into her pocket. She walked quickly out of the park. She had to hurry, someone was going to die.

Meanwhile, back at the NCIS headquarters,

"Boss, we just got a tip from a local LEO, he spotted a person looking like Saleem entering the Washington Monument."

"Gear up."

The men grabbed their gear and made a dash for the parking garage.

In no time, they were at Washington Monument. Tony got out of the vehicle until He bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry!" Ziva looked up and was staring into Tony's eyes

Gibbs and McGee had caught up with Tony and saw Ziva as well.

Ziva turned around and dashed into the park. Tony followed her closely as did McGee and Gibbs.

Ziva was running and she was out of breath. She spotted a tree and climbed up.

Tony stopped at the spot where he last saw Ziva. He was baffled, she could not have run that fast. Gibbs and McGee caught up with him.

"Where did she go Dinozzo?" questioned Gibbs.

"I have no clue, she just. Vanished,"

"No one just disappears into thin air Tony." Said McGee

"I don't know okay McGee! Can we just question the LEO and go already!" Tony stormed off.

"He's taking it hard isn't he?" said McGee

Gibbs nodded his head and followed Tony.

Ziva made sure the close was clear and jumped down from the tree. She made a mad dash for the exit.

Back at the NCIS headquarters,

Ziva immediately went down to Abby's lab and passed her the photo. Abby noticed that Ziva was very uptight.

"What's wrong Ziva?"

Ziva ran a hand through her curls and sighed,

"Someone's life is at stake, I don't want that to happen just because of me."

"Ziva, this is not your fault at all."

"Yes it is, excuse me, I have to go see Ducky and Jimmy."

Abby opened her mouth to say something but Ziva was already gone.

At the bullpen,

Tony could not get over how Ziva was at two of the investigated locations. Something was definitely going on. He was definitely going to question her about it next Wednesday when he was free to stop by her apartment.

**R&R Please!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Herro!**

**School life officially sucks. I hardly have the time to update, I will try my best!**

**Don't want to keep you guys waiting, here it is!**

Chapter 14:

Soon enough, the second Wednesday rolled around. It was time for the meeting again. This time, Ziva cooked. At about 2030, all three of the regulars arrived.

"So, how are we moving along?" asked Ziva

All three of them nodded, signaling that everything was going smoothly.

Abby was about to open her mouth to give Ziva the results of the recent clue Saleem left until she was interrupted by the knocking of her door.

Ziva went and looked through the peephole to see Tony. She signaled to Abby, Ducky and Jimmy to hide. They understood and ran into her room.

Ziva moved the whiteboard out of sight, patted her hair and poked her head out of the door.

"Hey Zi," greeted Tony

"Hi…" she greeted back

"What's with the tone, not happy to see me?"

"N… No, I was just, um. Not expecting anyone tonight."

"Well, sorry for the sudden visit. Will you let me in?"

Ziva hesitated, but opened the door anyway.

Tony noticed the dining table and frowned,

"I thought you said you were not expecting anyone."

"Umm, that's all mine."

"You eat a lot."

"Yeah, umm, I am very hungry. I do more stuff since I'm not allowed to be involved in the case."

"Speaking of the case, why are you leaving your paper trail everywhere?"

"What are you talking about?" she answered, she hoped he did not hear the quiver in her voice.

He took the bracelet out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Oh. That, umm…"

"Explain that."

"When I was at the warehouse, it could have fallen out of my pocket."

"But I specifically heard it clink on the floor."

"Maybe something else dropped. I don't know."

"Are you sure? I'm getting worried, I saw you at the park today."

"Well, I needed some umm, fresh air."

"I'm really worried," he took Ziva's hand

Ziva felt her cheeks flush.

"Umm, I'm fine. Is it a crime to get some fresh air?"

"No, but why did you run?"

"Reflex action."

"I care for you Ziva, you know that. I want to know what is really going on."

"Nothing, nothing is going on."

"You sure,"

"Negative."

"You mean positive."

"Yeah, that."

He eyed her up and down. She tried to put on her most innocent smile.

"Alright, it's late, I'm going to let you have some rest. See you soon, call me if you need anything." He pecked her cheek and she felt herself blush. He flashed a quick smile at her and closed the door behind himself.

She breathed in a few breaths, opened her bedroom door and let the three of them out. They gave her suspicious looks but got the meeting moving.

Abby had pointed out that there was a petal stuck on the rock. It was a petal belonging to a specific kind of flower only found in an abandoned farmhouse in Maryland. With that, Ziva made plans to go and check out the farmhouse the next day. The four of them discussed on the team's progress back at NCIS, it was going quite slow which was a good thing. Ziva concluded the meeting then and there.

The next day,

Ziva hopped into her Cherry Red Mini Cooper early at about 0600 the next morning. Maryland was a long drive from where she was, she had to get a quick start. She buckled up and started up the engine.

At NCIS,

Tony clocked in at about 1000 the next day. He knew something was up with Ziva. His flow of thoughts was interrupted by Gibbs entering the bullpen holding his usual cup of coffee.

"Dinozzo, snap out of your headspace! What do you have for me?" Gibbs barked.

"Right boss," Tony replied and got the day started.

Meanwhile in Maryland,

Ziva reached Maryland at about 1300. She checked into a motel considering that she knew she would be exhausted by the time she finished up in Maryland.

She drove down to the abandoned farmhouse and scanned the area. She pulled out her Sig and walked around. She noticed a rather suspicious stable with blood leaking out from the bottom and peeped in, a dead man's body was lying in the stable and his lips were purple. In his hands, was a picture, she hoped over the fence and picked up the photo. It was a picture of Spruce Knob peak and behind the picture, it wrote.

"Final stage, you have to make a choice, find me or risk someone close to you ending up in the clouds. Make a wise choice and make it quick."

-Saleem

Ziva's heart rate immediately went up. "Someone close." She panicked and rushed out of the farmhouse.

Ziva tipped off NCIS while walking back to her car.

Back at NCIS,

"Boss, we got a tip off an anonymous person last spotted Saleem in Maryland." Said McGee as he hung up the desk phone

"Grab yer gear." Barked Gibbs

The men scrambled for their gear and tailed Gibbs.

Back at Maryland,

Ziva was trying to decipher what the message could mean via Skype with Abby. Abby was sucking happily away at her Caf-Pow!.

"What do you think?"

"Someone close, hmmm. I don't quite understand the message. Unless you could rush back from Maryland now and I could rush on this evidence."

"I will try my best to hurry back then Abby. Expect me in about two to four hours' time."

"Sounds good, see you soon,"

"See you." Replied Ziva

Ziva clicked shut her phone and went to check out.

Meanwhile,

Gibbs was driving faster than the speed of light, everything outside was just going by in blurs. But, Tony saw it. That unmistakable Cherry Red Mini Cooper. Was it Ziva's? Many other people have small red cars too but this one caught Tony's eye for some reason.

Meanwhile back at Abby's lab,

Abby was sitting down at her desk, happily sipping away at her Caf-Pow!. Suddenly, she felt faint. She shook her head and continued to drink. But, the more she drank, the sicker she felt. Her head started spin madly and she fell towards the floor.

**R&R please! (I'm sorry of I got any of the Washington Geographical facts wrong, I'm from Singapore.)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey my creys!**

**Shout out to dark but so Lovely for constant reviews and also, ladybugsmomma, Robern and ForeignMusicLyrics. You guys are fab.**

**Now here I give you, chapter 15!**

Chapter 15:

Team Gibbs had arrived back from Maryland and Gibbs sent McGee to give Abby the evidence.

"Abby! I've got some stuff for you." McGee yelled as he came out from the lift.

No reply, Abby didn't mention about taking the day off. McGee quickened his pace and went into the lab to find Abby collapsed on the floor. McGee went into panic mode. He ran towards her unconscious figure.

"Abby! Abby!" McGee shook her gently.

No response. He noticed that her lips were a shade of blue and there was a cup of spilled Caf-Pow! on the floor. He whipped out his cell phone and called for an ambulance.

"Come on Abby. Don't do this to me." Thought McGee

At Bethesda,

All of team Gibbs was outside Abby's ward. Ducky and Jimmy arrived a few minutes later.

"What happened to Abigail?" asked Ducky

"Poisoned, it was in her Caf-Pow!." explained McGee

"How is she?" asked Jimmy

"They managed to flush out the poison, but she is a little disoriented at the moment due to the concussion." Replied Tony

Gibbs was furious. Who could have done this? He was supposed to protect his team but this shit still happened.

Meanwhile at Ziva's apartment,

Ziva had heard about the news and was going to see Abby. She was also going to tell her, Jimmy and Ducky to back off. This was her fight now.

She couldn't get anyone else involved in her mess.

She packed a machine gun, her trusty sig and strapped a pair of knives on her ankle. She was dressed in all black and had her hair in a ponytail, this ends now. She loaded some extra weapons and ammo into her car trunk and sped off.

Back at Bethesda,

Abby had awoken about an hour ago and she was asking a lot of questions as she couldn't remember what had happened.

Ziva had arrived at Bethesda and was speaking to Abby in private. The team had gone back to continue the case which only left Ducky, Jimmy and Abby.

"How are you feeling Abby?" asked Ziva

"Fine, I'm feeling just fine." Replied Abby

"I am so sorry for all this."

"How is any of this your fault?"

Ziva explained about the latest clue she uncovered.

"No Ziva, this is so not your fault."

"Yes it is. I shouldn't have gotten you involved. That's why I'm asking you guys to back out."

Three of them started to oppose.

"No, I cannot put any of your lives at risk again. I simply cannot. I have to finish this on my own. Do not try and stop me."

With that, Ziva got up and walked out of the ward.

"I think it's time we told Gibbs." Said Abby

Both Ducky and Jimmy nodded their heads.

Back at NCIS,

The team was all hard at work trying to crack the case until they were interrupted by Ducky and Jimmy entering the bull pen.

"How's Abby?" asked McGee

"She's just fine, but we have something we need to tell you." Said Jimmy

Jimmy and Ducky explained all about Wednesday nights and all about the clues that have been taunting Ziva.

"Why didn't she come to us?" asked Tony with a worried expression

"She did not want to risk any of you cracking the case and Saleem hunting any of you down. But that's not the top priority now. She is heading off to face Saleem on her own as we speak. At the peak of Spruce Knob, is that right Mr. Palmer?"

Jimmy nodded his head. Gibbs immediately stood up and yelled,

"Grab yer gear! Move! Quickly!"

The team all grabbed their weapons and rushed off.

At Spruce Knob,

Ziva unloaded her gear for the trunk and surveyed the base of Spruce Knob. Some army trucks, probably to transport his supplies up and down and to move around

"Nothing much," she thought. She got back into her car and headed toward the peak.

Meanwhile,

Gibbs was driving the faster than he ever drove before. He was breaking a thousand and one traffic rules but he didn't give a damn. He was not prepared to lose Ziva like he lost Kate again. She was the daughter he never had and he was not going to lose her.

Tony was very fidgety at the back. He knew it all along, something was definitely off with Ziva. He should have asked her more. Deep in his heart, he loved Ziva. He loved her and the feeling was like none he ever felt before even with Jeanne or EJ. She made him feel special. He could not lose her without telling her all this.

Back at Spruce Knob,

Ziva had speed drove all the way to the peak. The view was fantastic as the sun was going down. She smiled but she had no time to admire the view, she had a bastard to take down. She unloaded her gear and explored around the peak. She noticed a suspicious hut up ahead. She slung her machine gun around and ran towards the hut.

At the hut,

The hut was empty, but this hut gave Ziva the chills up her spine. She walked around the hut and noticed a trap door that was poorly camouflaged with a rug. She moved the rug aside, opened the trap door and jumped down.

Apparently, the trap door was the entrance to an underground hideout. She explored through the tunnels and she was led to an empty arena.

She looked around and heard footsteps behind her. She immediately turned around and was faced with a group of about five men. Her Mossad instincts kicked in.

She managed to take them down with quite some ease. Another group of men came in and she took them down again. By the fifth set, she was feeling quite tired. But just at her fatigue point, Saleem made his appearance. She snapped out of her fatigue state and held up her machine gun.

"Finally you show up you coward." She said with anger evident in her voice.

"Ah, dear Ziva, you played my games well. This is the grand finale."

She glared at him. He raised his gun and pointed at her. She was about to pull the trigger until she froze. The last three months all came flooding back to her brain.

So she stood there. Frozen, Saleem saw his chance and shot. Ziva reacted to the sound but it was too late. She felt a pain at the left part of her chest. She put her palm on it and blood rolled down her fingers.

"Not so tough now huh, Ziva?" Saleem taunted

She pulled out the knife at her leg and aimed it at Saleem's chest but it missed and it lodged in his arm.

"NCIS! Drop your weapons!"

Saleem took another shot at Ziva and the bullet landed in her thigh. She flinched in pain and slid down into a sitting motion.

Saleem was about to take another shot at Ziva but a very pissed off Tony shot him in the chest.

Gibbs and McGee went to check on Saleem and checked his pulse. He was dead out.

Ziva groaned in pain and said, "Damn it." She said softly.

Tony dashed to her side and put her in his arms

"Ziva, don't go. Don't fall asleep."

"Huuh, T..o..n..y. I'm so tired."

"Hang on Ziva!"

"Cannot, I'm so tired." She wheezed

"Hang on baby. WHERE'S THE DAMN AMBULANCE?"

McGee ran outside the hideout to check. Gibbs ran to Ziva's side.

"What? What did you just call me?"

"Baby, I… I love you Ziva."

Gibbs smiled to himself secretly. "Finally Dinozzo!" he thought. But his smile faded when he looked at Ziva's face which was showing signs of her pain.

"Well, you know what? I love you too." Said Ziva with a smile

Tony smiled back.

"No regrets now," thought Ziva

Ziva slowly closed her eyes and she faded into a world of darkness.

**R&R please!**


	16. Final Chapter

**Hello my creys!**

**So, this is the end of this story, I'm happy to have been able to write for you all. I have my new fic planned out already, it's a Castle and NCIS crossover. Look out for it coming your way real soon. It has been a pleasure writing this story and receiving all the reviews. I enjoyed this journey and I hope you did too. **

**And now, for the final chapter**

Chapter 16:

Ziva was running. She was running really fast. She couldn't remember what she was running from but she knew to hurry. She reached a door and opened it. She thought she was out to freedom. Apparently not, she was back in another room, every time when she thought she could finally be free again, she was dragged closer to the burning pits of this hell. The door shut behind her. She jumped at the slamming noise. There was a chair, someone was on the chair. Saleem appeared out of nowhere and slit the person on the chair's throat. Ziva gasped but remained out of sight. When Saleem vanished, she ran forward to check on the person, when she turned the chair around, she got the shock of her life.

The person on the chair was Tony.

She yelled out. Nobody seemed to hear her. Nobody was coming this time. She was all alone.

Tony was holding his fifth cup of coffee for the day in the hospital. He went down to get a refill when he heard shouting coming from Ziva's room. He dropped the cup and dashed to Ziva's ward.

Ziva was thrashing wildly in her sleep. Tony arrived at the ward and tried to calm her.

"Ziva, wake up! Wake up, it's just a dream!"

Ziva shot up instantly and her breathing was heavy. She blinked a few times and saw Tony shooting her a worried look. A few nurses had arrived at the ward and Tony said that he got it covered. The nurses nodded and left the ward quietly.

"Tony? Is that you?" she reached out and touched his face

'Yes Zi, it is me." Tony replied

"You're alive," tears were streaming down her face

Tony pulled her closer and embraced her in a hug. She sobbed into his shoulder and he was whispering reassurances in her ear.

"I thought you were gone, I really thought so. Don't leave me." Ziva said between sobs.

"Never." Replied Tony

"I love you, Tony."

"I love you too Zi."

They pulled away from each other's embraced and the forces of attraction brought the two closer and a soft but passionate kiss was shared. Ziva had her psych evaluation to go through and she had to work on becoming an NCIS agent again. They also had to admit to Gibbs about their feeling for each other. Ziva and Tony knew that they would never be alone again.

**The end, sorry that it was so short but I'm real excited to start on my new fic and there wasn't any other way to end it. I lub you guys so much and do leave one last review before heading off. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed my story. Sayonara!**


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